Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Lunch at Southwest Tavern.

Southwest Tavern is an American Theme restaurant a stone's throw from International Business Park (IBP). Though it is near Jurong East MRT station but it is not within the walking distance. You may talk bus 52 or 105 from the Jurong East Bus Interchange to bring you right there. The restaurant is hidden from the main road but you would not missed it if you follow the direction sign. I called to make an appointment for a table for 2 for a late lunch as i thought it might be crowded.

There was only another table when we were there at 2.30 pm. We were ushered to a table for 2 quickly and presented with the menu right after.

This is a non-aircon cafe but with quite a few fans around to cool the place down. The heat might be unbearable during those humid days. The ambience is rather cosy with a hint of american cowboy theme decoration to give it a rustic country feel.

There are a good selection of main courses range from Chicken, Fish, Beef, Lamb, Pasta to Burger. Each of the main course is served with 2 sides. The selection of sides range from mashed potato, coleslaw, baked beans, sweet corn, butter rice, potato wedges, roasted potato and salad. They serve a wide range of selection for drinks from Beer to Cocktail to Hot Drinks to Soft Drinks.

I took a bit of time to go through the menu and decided to go with a set of Fried Chicken Steak and a set of Char Grilled Chicken Steak. I was a bit hesitant to order their signature Blooming Onion as it might be too much for 2 person to finish. I asked that friendly auntie for advice. She said the Blooming Onion is just finger food so no issue at all. I trusted her and ordered it to share. I ordered a glass of coke too.

Every table has got a condiment basket consisting of Tobacco, Mustard, Chilli Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Pepper and Salt. This is made available just in case you might need the something extra to excite the taste of the food a bit.

They served the drink first then followed by the Bloomin' Onion and the 2 mains at the same time.

A Glass of Coke ($2). Reasonably priced and served it in a nice looking glass with just enough of ice cubes to keep it chilled. A pretty good selection if you did not want to have alcoholic drinks during lunch.

Bloomin' Onion ($12). I was amazed by the size of the onion when it served. It was a pretty big onion and for 2 person to finish it might be quite a challenge. It would be finger food if to be shared amongst 3 to 4 people but not quite so for only 2 people.

The onion was lightly battered and fried to perfection to give it the desired crispiness. It is an exciting choice. I remember eating it the first time a few years ago in a steak house. This particular one was tasty though not quite as good as the one i eaten before. A small container of Ranch Sauce was placed in the centre of that bloomin' onion. The sauce complemented the sweetness of the onion and the slight saltiness of the seasoning quite well. It still tasted crispy even after left it for a bit. It did not taste too oily, too. It actually tasted just like Onion Rings.

It would be perfect if to go with beer.

Fried Chicken Steak with Bull's Horn Wedges and Cow Pie Mashed Potato ($16). It was quite a big and thick piece of chicken most likely from the leg part served with generous serving of mashed potato and potato wedges.

The fried chicken steak came in 2 parts, a really big piece and a smaller piece hidden below. It was well-marinated to give it the desired flavor then coated with bread crumbs to fry till golden brown to give it the distinctive crispiness then served it with Ranch Sauce.

The presentation is the typical American style. It is messy and in large portion. The pile of mashed potato has got the likable smoothness and evenness in texture. It was served with a certain sauce which tasted like the Ranch Sauce for the Fried Chicken Steak. The potato wedges came in equally generous serving. It tasted rather average though delightfully crispy.

Grilled chicken steak with Sloppy Slaw and Badlands Grilled Potato ($16). It came in large portion too. The chicken steak was perfectly grilled to leave its surface a beautiful color and flavor. It was slightly charred on its edges. The texture of the chicken steak was awesomely succulent. I would think the taste of barbecue sauce was a little overwhelming.

The coleslaw consisting of cabbage and carrot tasted rather refreshing but the roasted potato is a bad choice. Though it has been seasoned then grilled but it still tasted kind of bland and too filling.

As expected, we did not manage to finish the Bloomin' Onion.

The portion of the main is served in big portion so it might be better to share for small eaters to avoid wastage of food like we just did.

There is currently a Death Wing Challenge to take up 6 pieces of extra spicy suicidal wings with 1 pint of beer in 15 minutes. Those that completed the challenge could have the 6 pieces of wings for free with beer for free and have their pictures put up on the Hall of Frame. Are you dare enough to take up the challenge?

The total bill is $50.20 inclusive of GST.

The service was pretty attentive. And, the massive amount of foods served is definitely value for money.